Not a man
by state-of-unnease
Summary: Of course he would never talk to her. Not once. It was the line they wouldn't cross upon every thin lines they had walked...


This is a one shot I wrote to the song **Mannequin **by** Katy perry.**

I was just really bored and thought I'd share this with you guys!

_**I own nothing below (or above) apart from the plot and direct story.**_

* * *

Sakura stared at the pieces lying haphazardly on the shattered ground.

Thousands of arms and legs and all kinds of other body parts lay around her, unmoving.

She set to work on restoring him.

_How do I get closer to you_

_When you keep it all on mute?_

_How will I know the right way to love you?_

She kept searching through the mass of limbs, thinking of moments in the past, when they would lie awake and she would try to make him love her as much as she did him…

She went on working on her goal in silence as memories kept playing in her minds eye.

_Usually the queen of figuring out_

_Breaking down a man is no workout_

_But I have no clue _

_How to get through to you_

The old woman was long gone, along with the rest of the rescue party.

They were long gone and now she was left alone to rage.

Stupid boy; always throwing himself in trouble! Sometimes she wondered if he hurt.

But then, she would always find a way to fix him. Hopefully.

_Oh, I wanna hit you just to see if you cry_

_I keep knocking on wood_

_Hoping there's a real boy inside_

She sighed sorrowfully as she set her armful away from the rest of the limbs, apart from the rest.

She sat carefully on the ground, next to the mound and set to work, stretching and calmly grabbing a hand.

Twist, push, pop, tie. Twist, push, pop, tie. Twist, push, pop, tie…

_Cause you're not a man_

_You're just a mannequin_

_I wish you could feel that my love is real_

_But you're not a man_

Why did he have to make everything so complicated? Why couldn't he just accept that they were worlds apart and leave her alone..?

Of course he had to go and make her fall in love with him.

From the first glance, on a mission long ago…

She huffed softly from the effort she was putting in her task, mending pieces back together.

_I wish I could just turn you on_

_Put a battery in and make you talk_

_Even pull a string for you to say anything_

Of course he would never talk to her. Not once. It was the line they wouldn't cross upon every thin lines they had walked.

But it was alright as long as he came back every other night and they would let their bodies do the talking.

And then he would screw up and she would fix him.

That's how they worked.

_But with you there's no guarantee_

_Only expired warranty_

Sakura stared at him. She was almost finished, there was only one part missing.

One small, critical part.

_A bunch of broken parts_

_And I can't seem to find your heart_

And she stood, walking around the huge open cave, glancing down craters and reaching in thick cracks in the ground, searching frantically for the missing organ. The only organ.

She never should have accepted him in her life.

All he was doing was ruining her and making her ill and sad and _angry!_

And she loved him and he was slowly killing her each time he died.

Over and over.

And now she couldn't fix him.

_Oh, I'm such a fool, I'm such a fool, I'm such a fool_

_This one's outta my hands_

_I can't put you back together again_

And she searched and she dug to find his heart, and her hands hurt and her eyes wouldn't dry. And she didn't find it.

And the body was left empty, heartless and unarticulated, and he was such a puppet.

And she was his, still.

_Cause you're not a man_

_You're just a mannequin_

_I wish you could feel that my love is real_

_But you're not a man_

How could he just depend on her, expect her to make up for his mistakes?

And she was left to remember him, stoic and still in all his emotionless glory as he laid next to her, dead to the world as she held him. As she loved him.

And it hurt even more every time he left her to wait for his return, praying he wouldn't get bored of her.

He wasn't even human.

She wanted to save what was left of him.

She studied it when he left for weeks on end, in the lonely moments…

And she could. If only he could see that.

_You're just a toy_

_Could you ever be a real, real boy_

_And understand?_

_But you're not a man_

So she tried to get him to speak, to open up to her, let her heal his wounded heart and solve his problems.

Let her work her magic and bring him back to being a normal man.

A normal human being with a real life.

_If the past is the problem_

_Our future could solve them, baby_

_I could bring you to life if you let me inside, baby_

_It will hurt but in the end you'll be a man_

But without words, she could only do so much.

And he wouldn't change for her. Because perhaps she wasn't enough for him.

Maybe he was scared to feel again.

So they kept meeting, tangling and sweating and soon he would leave for days on end.

And they would start over the next month when he came back and she would love him while he held her.

And never once they would speak. Not a word as nothing changed.

_You're not a man_

_You're just a mannequin_

_I wish you could see that my love is real_

But now she was left alone again as she lied down next to him, what was left of his broken body.

It wasn't so different, as long as she was alive and he held her. As long as she didn't move, she could pretend he was here with her.

All she had to do was dry her tears and all would be well, she could fool herself.

Maybe if he had trusted her, she could have saved him this time too.

And she felt stupid, holding on to him.

Because he wasn't human and his body was just a kid's, just fifteen and he _wasn't even human._

As if he could ever feel anything for her…

_You're a toy_

_Could you ever be a real, real boy_

_And understand?_

_But you're not a man_

So Sakura went back home and brought him with her.

Maybe one day, when her own heart healed and she stopped crying for their almost-love, she would realize that it was alright.

As long as she knew he was around, even if it was only as a dislocated puppet, she would love him.

And maybe, from where he was now, Sasori would love her too.

Maybe.

_You're not a man…_

_You're just a mannequin…_

_I wish you could feel that my love is real…_

_But you're not a man…_


End file.
